


Sacrifice

by thafiona13



Category: Attack on Titan, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-15 17:02:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13617747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thafiona13/pseuds/thafiona13
Summary: It's been 10 years since Annie enclosed herself in her crystal, finally in the cover of darkness, a slight crack was forming...and so are old feelings.





	Sacrifice

-Annie-

Darkness, that was all I knew. I have no recollection of who I am or why I'm being trapped in since I found out that I couldn't move.

"Annie..." something whispered in my ear "An-nie?" I thought, furrowing my eyebrows.

The name sounded familiar and I gasped when images blossomed in my head, I saw a little me playing with who I presume was my mother and father, I could feel the intense happiness my younger self had.

Then the image changed and I saw me a little older, punching bags with my father behind me, saying insults and corrections.

The emotions I felt made me want to curl up and cry, I felt sadness, pain, loneliness but the one that stayed with me the most was the intense hatred I had towards my father, men, and the world.

The images changed again and I saw myself with two boys, the names Reiner and Bertholdt popped up above their head as we walked into a giant wall and joined a group of kids just like us, I could feel that we were different than them, I just couldn't figure out what.

The images changed again and I saw a black haired girl with a red scarf. I gasped as my emotions hit me, I could sense that I wanted nothing more than to curl up next to this girl and be held in her arms. Even as intense as the love I could feel for that girl, I could feel that I didn't want to drag her into whatever mess I was in so I steeled my gaze and pretended that I hated her. "I don't deserve love...." popped in my head as I watched me fight the girl.

My vision blurred again and this time I was.... a monster. I had practically no skin covering my body and I was at least 14 meters tall.

Something shifted in my mouth and I noticed that I was holding a boy. Gathering from the thoughts floating around my mind, I discovered who the person is.

His name was Eren..... Jaegar and I could tell that he was a really important person, my da- no the man who was once my father specifically told me to capture him.

Suddenly the sound of wires going past my head could be heard and I felt hooks attach to my muscles, I looked around and saw a little man and the girl coming at me.

Suddenly the little man started cutting through my arms and I felt fury, but as soon as I turned away I felt blades slicing across my jaw muscles and I felt that I dropped the boy.

I looked over and saw the girl again, I stared right into her eyes and felt like dying. In those stormy gray eyes, all I saw was the intense rage and fury towards me but tucked in the corner was....pity.

There was something wet on my face and when I reached up to find the source I realized that I was crying.

Blackness engulfed my vision again and when it cleared I saw that I was back in my human form, by the looks of things I was leading Eren, a blonde boy, and the girl into a tunnel.

We appeared to be speaking but no sounds came out, then suddenly I was ambushed from behind, I watched myself struggling and in a flash of light, I turned into that skinless monster again.

After that everything started going faster and faster, almost like my memories were coming to an end, then it suddenly slowed down.

It appeared like I was climbing something, a giant wall, I could almost see the top. I saw a black streak on the corner of my field of vision but ignored it, then the girl suddenly appeared in front of me. She landed on my forehead and whispered the words "Fall...Annie". Then everything went black....

-No ones p.o.v.-  
In the basement of the survey corps, long forgotten was a crystal. Inside the crystal was a girl trapped in time, who, unknowingly to the others had begun to regain consciousness. The more memories that rushed back into her head, the more the crystal started to break. Since one can only hold their regrets for so long.......

* * *

 

-Annie-

I don't know how much time have passed since my memories started to come back, it felt like days but logically speaking it couldn't be more than a few hours.

With every passing minute, I was bombarded with memories and the feelings that came attached to it.

I don't know how my past self managed not to cry every single day but I was so mentally exhausted with the sheer velocity of my emotions, there was so my rage, regret, sadness, loneliness, and stress.

Eventually, I sensed that my memories were coming to an end and that the tightness around my body was getting looser.

I finally opened my eyes and had to blink a few times to adjust to the darkness. "Where am I?" I wondered as I glanced around, my body was still entrapped in the crystal I created in my last moments even though it is loosing I still couldn't move fully around.

I frowned "This is taking to long...." I pondered " If I can get myself into the crystal, I should have control of getting out." I reasoned.

I concentrated on the crystal and pictured it cracking, the crystal starts cracking faster and eventually, I was free.

I tumbled onto the ground and grunted, breaking out of my crystal was taking a bigger toll on me then I thought.

I was out of shape and could barely stand but I knew that I have to get out of this place.

"Where ever I am, I doubt I'll be safe here." I glance around and saw a lot of things covered in clothing, and by the amount of dust, it looks like these have been here for a long time.

As I slowly moved around the room, I found an old mirror and finally got a good look at myself.

My blonde hair has grown out and it almost reached my hip, I looked taller but I was still pretty short, and some parts.... have filled out.

My uniform felt really uncomfortable on me so I decided to take it off, leaving me with just my white hoodie.

I felt my stomach grumble and finally felt how hungry and parched I was. " I need to find food and water..." I thought as I slowly began walking to the set of stairs I saw going up.

I opened the door at the top of the stairs and looked around "Coast is clear." I thought as I continued moving.

It felt like I was walking for forever, these hallways never seemed to end.

My vision started getting blurry and I could feel that my hunger was taking over. I couldn't walk any further and the world started spinning as I kneeled down, panting hard.

"Ha, is this how it's going to end? I didn't protect a single fucking thing I cared about, goddammit!" I thought miserably as my strength started to fade away and my vision grew darker.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a figure walking towards me. I was so weak at this point that I didn't even try to move away and just allowed myself to be picked up bridal style.

I knew it wasn't long till I passed out so, with the last of my strength, I turned my head and looked up at the person carrying me.

It was the girl with the red scarf, "Warm." were my last thoughts before I faded away from reality.

* * *

 

**So I was writing chapter 5 and realized that I made it seem that Mikasa already found Annie, no this was an illusion, she just saw Mikasa because she was thinking of her at the moment. It wasn't really her, hope this clears up any confusion! Also, in her mind, she was gently being carried bridal style, but in reality she was tossed over the shoulder like you would a bag of potatoes.**

* * *

 

_Dreamworld_

Annie opened her eyes slowly and looked around, she was on the bottom of a bunk bed.

 "Where the hell am I?" Annie said as she put her hand on her head, it was throbbing painfully. 

"I'm glad you're awake." said a very familiar male voice, one she hadn't heard in a very long time.

 Annie turned her head to look at the owner of the voice and gasped. "No NO, this isn't possible...."  Annie said stressfully, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead.

 Marco looked at her strangely and he shakes his head. "You must've hit your head harder than we thought," Marco responded kindly.

 "NO NO... SHUT UP YOUR SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD, WE TOOK YOUR GEAR, I-I SAW YOUR BODY WITH MY OWN EYES!" Annie said fearfully as she backed up against the wall.

 Marco got up and started to move towards Annie "Wh-what are you doing STAY AWAY FROM ME!" She screamed but stopped when something started to happen to him.

 His dark black hair turned blonde, his light brown eyes turning a darker shade and his freckles disappeared.

Marco then began to shrink and his body turned feminine. Annie gasped as Petra Ral now stood before here. She smiled at Annie warmly but for only a second, because when Annie blinked again, she saw her slumped against the side of her bed and her back and neck was bent at inhuman levels.

"No...NO STOP PLEASE!" Annie screamed and closed her eyes when she opened them, Mina was standing in front of her, beaming. "Mina?" Annie whispered gently and began to reach out to touch her face.

 Annie blinked again and this time Mina's head disappeared, all that was left was her neck with blood gushing out. 

Annie screamed again, and the person in front of her changed again, each time she blinked. Some she knew, some were unfamiliar. But each one was in a more gruesome state than the one before.

Annie wanted to turn away and close her eyes, but something was forcing her head in place and her eyes to remain open, just allowing her to close them to blink. Annie must've seen thousands of corpses before it finally stopped.

 She felt the pressure on her body disappeared and collapsed on the floor. Annie saw a side of herself that not even she knew she had, she was a mess. 

Her heart was beating fast and her lungs were heaving for air, her hair had fallen out of her signature bun and was messily covering her trembling face.

 "I'm so sorry," Annie said quietly as she let her eyes close, tears still running down her face "please someone, anybody help me." Annie whimpered silently.

 

_End Of Dreamworld_

 

Annie bolted straight up and quickly scanned the room, she was breathing heavy and her eyes looked wild. "It was all a fucking dream, just great, just fucking great" Annie thought as she closed her eyes and leaned back.

 "Wait where am I?" Annie opened her eyes again and looked around. It looked like she was put in a cage, with only a little bed in the corner, which she was sitting on.

Annie heard the sound of pencil on paper and quickly turned around.

There she saw an older woman, with messy hair scribbling furiously on a notepad.

 When the woman looked up Annie recognized her as Hange "I see you finally decided to join us back in reality, Annie Leonhardt." She said coldly.

 "We don't need any data on you anymore, but seeing that you just tried to escape the moment you woke up and all the other things you've done a little punishment might be..... necessary." Hange said in a giddy tone, but that giddiness didn't reach her eyes.

They were as cold and hard as metal when she looked at Annie.

 Annie didn't say anything and just stared right back, her eyes looked as blank and bored as usual but on the inside, there was a swirl of emotions.

 Hange, took a look at Annie's face and something inside Hange snapped "YOU FUCKING BITCH, DO YOU NOT FEEL ANYTHING? YOUR ACTIONS KILLED THOUSANDS OF SCOUTS AND INNOCENT PEOPLE! AFTER 10 YEARS, YOU STILL DON'T FEEL ANY FUCKING REMORSE?!" Hange screamed at her through the bars and spat near her feet. 

As quickly as her sudden outburst came, it quickly disappeared, Hange adjusted her glasses and seeming calmed down. "Well, you're not going to go anywhere now." She said as she walked towards the door.

 "I sincerely hope you rot in hell, Annie." Hange said one more time before she closed the door behind her.

Annie sighed and leaned back against the bars. "You don't know how much I fucking regret what I did...." Annie said quietly to herself, a single tear slide down her face and she closed her eyes. "Wait..... Hange say something about it being 10 years since I was crystallized?" Annie thought as she snapped her eyes open. "I should be dead...." Annie said quietly as she stared at her hands. She bit her hand and tried to change into a titan, a minute passed and nothing happened. "My power, it's gone, but that's not possible, then again me being alive shouldn't be possible either... " Annie thought and soon realized how hungry she was.

She looked around once more and spotted a loaf of bread and some potatoes. She quickly ate it, enjoying how good the food tasted on her taste buds. After eating, Annie lay back on her bed and closed her eyes "I should be dead right now, but I'm not, what a sick joke." she chuckled sadly to herself and slowly drifted into sleep. Never noticing the pair of eyes as icy blue as hers, were staring at her, planning and calculating his next move.

* * *

 

"Wake up bitch." A cold voice said as Annie felt something poking her on her side, she ignored it at first but when the pokes became more frequent and painful, she realized that she couldn't sleep through this.

"Alright, I'm up." Annie snapped as she rubbed her eyes and stretch. "Great, first real sleep in years and I wake up to this asshole."

She thought grudgingly as she put her shoes on. "Shut up bitch, eat your food then we're leaving." Said her guard as he eyed her body. Annie ignored his gaze and bend down to pick up her food tray, the taste of baked potatoes and bread on her taste buds.

"Alright, now strip." The guard said with a smirk, "Excuse me?" Annie said as she stared right into his eyes, she saw him flinch, but he recovered quickly. "Just do it, take of your sweater, leave your pants and bra on, Commanders order."

He said with a forced confidence, honestly this girl scared him more then any titans, something about her eyes that betrayed nothing of her emotions but could've been filled with killing intent.

Annie signed and obeyed, she wasn't shy about her body, heck her father had once made her wear nothing other then warps to cover herself up. No, it was the fact that even though she killed more people then he could count, this guard still viewed her as a sex symbol. "This is way I hate men...." Annie thought as she took her sweater off.

"Alright turn around." the guard said with lust and Annie obeyed. She felt him put handcuffs on her wrists and when she turned back to look at him, he was opening the prison door. "Come." He said gruffly and Annie followed, expressionless.

She felt him snicker and felt hands on her butt "Your pretty hot, too bad you're not even a human, If you were I would totally bang this ass."

Before he could even react, he felt a knee went up to his privates "You disgust me." Annie said as she looked at her captive and continued walking in the direction they were going.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH!" She heard him say and felt his presence behind her, she turned around and saw a fist coming at her head.

Annie easily dodged it which caused her guard to get even madder. "I don't care if the commander told us not to hurt you, I'm going to beat you to a pulp!" He yelled and tried to punch Annie again.

She easily dodged it, her reflexes still sharp even after all those years of stillness. "Even Eren was more of a challenge then this...." she thought as she easily dodged on punch after the other, all the while not breaking a sweat.

Her guard, on the other hand, was sweating and heaving, "HAHAHA, you got totally owned, Robert!" Said a voice on their left, they both turned to look at Hange laughing her butt off.

"Shu-shut up I-!" Robert began to speak but Hange walked right in front of him and looked him in his eyes. "I thought I told you not to hurt her, or try to hurt her. Did I not make myself clear?" Hange asked matter-of-factly, all signs of her initial laughter gone.

"I-I know but she kicked me in m-my area...." He said trailing off "Now why would she do that?" Hange said sarcastically "You just couldn't control your hands, could you?" Hange continued coldly "Enough, just bring her to the courtyard, you already wasted plenty of time." she said as she turned around to leave.

"You heard her, let's move." Robert said, turning into solider mode.

They emerged outside their building and Annie saw hundreds of eyes look at her with shock, Annie ignored them all and made her way up the platform in the front. There she was forced to kneel down and felt chains go around her head.

"This here is Annie Leonhardt, the female titan." Annie heard Hange's voice beside her. "As you all know, she has committed numerous crimes against humanity," she spoke to the silent crowd, who were still processing the fact that the person who murdered their friends and family, was kneeling just right in front of them.

"So we have decided that Annie Leonhardt, as punishment would receive 5 lashing on the back!" Hange broadcasted to the whole crowd.

"THAT"S BULLSHIT SHE FUCKING MURDERED MY FRIENDS AND SHE ONLY GETS 5 LASHINGS??!" A voice screamed from the front of the crowd, Annie looked up and was caught in the intense glare of Eren Jaegar.

He went up the stage and took the whip out of the torturer's hands. "YOU DESERVE TO DIE!" Eren screamed as he whipped Annie across her back, the crowd was cheering at this point as Eren whipped Annie repeatedly.

"I deserve this...and more." Annie thought in pain, but she refused to scream. "DON'T YOU REGRET ANY OF IT?!" Eren yelled at her while still whipping her back "SCREAM GODDAMMIT!" He commanded but Annie refused because breaking down in front of this crowd would lead to her breaking down completely, and Annie refused to show that side to anybody.

The torture went on for what seemed like forever, Annie at this point was too weak to even look up, her head hanging low. Annie was getting faint from her intense loose of blood and her hearing was growing dull. She could barely hear Eren's angry cries or the crowd cheering for her pain.

"Stop." a voice spoke clearly through Annie's hazy conscious and she felt strong arms lift her up. "She needs to be treated, at this rate she'll die of blood loss." The voice said again, calmly as Eren screamed at her and the crowd booed.

Annie felt herself being carried away and heard the roaring of the crowd fade away. Annie was too exhausted to open her eyes and weak to think properly. She leaned into her rescuer's chest and felt water drops on her face. "It must be raining..." Annie thought weakly before she lost consciousness. 

Mikasa carried Annie away from her brother's cruel torture "No one deserves this sort of treatment." She thought as she looked down at Annie's peaceful face. She felt tears roll down her eyes as she felt blood cover her arms in red, Annie's blood.

 

* * *

**_Which would make no sense because she was outside the whole time, yeah IK, but her mind isn't working rn._ **

* * *

  **Timelapse (before Annie was getting tortured)**

Mikasa was told that they had a new prisoner by Hange, which was weird considering being a squad captain like she was, she should've at least seen him or her.

"Who is it, should I know them?" Mikasa asked Hange as she eyed the brunette bouncing around "Oh you'll know, you'll know soon!" She squealed which made Mikasa roll her eyes.

She was the type of girl that likes to get straight to the point, be it bad or good like you were ripping off a band-aid, was Mikasa's philosophy.

"Oh yeah Mikasa, I need you and your squad to take out some titans heading to the nearest village, there are some complaints of seeing titans roaming around and with your skills, it shouldn't take much effort," Hange said as she adjusted her glasses and calmed down. "just make sure you don't take too long. You don't want to miss what I have planned...." she continued, the excitement going back in her eyes, but when Mikasa looked closer she saw anger, cold hard anger.

Mikasa simply nodded and left the room, still pondering as she went to the courtyard. "That's weird," she thought as she saw them building what looked like a stage "for a prisoner they sure are going into a lot of effort." Mikasa went inside the scout regime's quarters and was about looking for her squad.

"Have you heard, Hange's going to torture a new prisoner?"

"Really I didn't know we had a new prisoner..... hehe, I hope they scream!"

"Yeah I know, apparently she's going to give them 5 lashings on the back!"

"OUCH, 5 LASHINGS? That's like going to hell and back, did you know they added barbs to it so it will literally stick to your skin?"

Gossiped two girls wearing the survey corps uniform in front of Mikasa, oblivious that she was standing right behind them.

" May I ask when this will take place?" Mikasa asked quietly and the girls jumped. "WHAT, oh it's just Captain Mikasa....OH, It's Captain Mikasa!" yelled one of the girls as she clutched to her friend "We-we didn't realize you were behind us.." said the other, nervously.

Mikasa signed to herself inwardly, with all the titans she solo killed, the other members of the survey corps had started to fear her because of her abilities.

Especially the scouts that were not here close friends or in her elite squad.

" When does Hange torture the new prisoner?" Mikasa asked again simply looking at the two girls, but from their reaction, you would think that she was glaring daggers at them.

"I-I heard that the commander is going to torture them i-in the courtyard in 4 hours." One of them stuttered back at her with the other one nodding furiously beside her.

"Thank you," Mikasa said as she continued her search for her squad.

"I should make it back before they start." Mikasa calculated as she looked around, soon she spotted all her elite members, specifically hand-picked for their skills and quick thinking.

They rode out as soon as they can, and in about 2 hours, they reached the village.

There were about 15 titans in total, most were 5 meters but there were one or two 15 meters. Mikasa made quick work of about half of them, while her squad took out the others.

Mikasa could easily take out all of them without breaking a sweat, but her squad needed the chance to practice.

The whole extermination took less than 10 minutes, but one of her squad accidentally damaged someone's roof, so they stayed for about 20 minutes fixing it.

"Well, we are definitely missing that public torture," Mikasa thought as they were riding back "I wasn't one to love watching people suffer anyways, so it might be a good thing."

As they entered the walls and got nearer to the headquarters of the survey corps, shouting can be heard. "That's weird, 5 lashing shouldn't have taken this long...." Mikasa thought as she began to distinguish what the shouts were saying.

"DIE BITCH!"

"FUCKING SCREAM ALREADY!"

"YOU DESERVE THIS, YOU FUCKING BITCH!"

"HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE TORTURED BY THE SAME PEOPLE YOU WERE KILLING? FEMALE TITAN?"

Mikasa froze on her horse, "No, NO they couldn't have possibly said the female titan.. it can't be." she thought as she pushed her horse to go faster.

She needed to see who it was, but the sight that awaited her was enough to make her puke. All she saw was a blonde head, dangling low and bloody, which was all it took to make Mikasa snap.

"STOP!" she screamed as she rushed towards the stage, the scouts moving out of her way as soon as they saw her face. Mikasa was fuming, she has seen torture before, hell, Mikasa even did her fair share of torturing, but this was a new low for the survey corps.

Annie was being held down by chains, her hands tied to the ground. She was only wearing a bra that was beginning to fall, due to the bards on the whip that was getting caught on the strap. She was literally kneeling in a pool of her blood, and by a number of marks on her back, whoever the torturer was, they had certainly not stopped at just 5 whips.

Mikasa got on the stage fuming and finally got a good look at the torturer. "EREN? YOUR THE TORTURER? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

Mikasa yelled as she began to jog towards Annie.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THIS MONSTER LITERALLY KILLED OUR FRIENDS AND YOUR ASKING WHATS WRONG WITH ME?" Eren shouted back furiously, mad that his own sister was questioning his actions.

"TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT HER, SHE'S PRACTICALLY SWIMMING IN HER OWN BLOOD!" Mikasa shouted back as she began to unlock Annie's chains "SHE NEEDS TO GET TREATED, AT THIS RATE SHE'LL DIE OF BLOOD LOSE!" Mikasa shouted again, stressing out when she realized that Annie had lost more blood than she thought.

* * *

 

**Ik this wasn't what Mikasa said in the earlier chapter, but that was written in more of Annie's perspective and she only heard little bits of the convo and she was getting delusional too, so THIS was intentional!**

* * *

  
****  
Mikasa gently picked up Annie bridal style, careful to not touch any place on her skin that was whipped.

Annie felt limp in her arms and her blood was seeping through Mikasa's uniform "SHIT SHIT SHIT, DONT FUCKING DIE ON ME LEONHARDT!" Mikasa panicked as she rushed to the hospital ward.

"SO WHAT IF SHE DIED, SHE DESERVES, IT THAT BITCH!" She could hear Eren shouting behind her and the crowd was bowing.

Mikasa ignored them and was running as fast as she can, she didn't even realize that she was crying.

She put Annie on a hospital bed face down and called the doctors over, at first they disagreed since it was the female titan, but one look at Mikasa's face and they started treating Annie as fast as they can. "Don't you dare die on me leonhardt.." Mikasa begged, "Please, there's only 4 of us left, I-I can't handle another death, after Sasha and Connor.."

Mikasa at this point was babbling and tears were streaming down her face.

"Um... Miss Ackerman, we need you to leave now, we need our full concentration to treat this girl, her injuries are very severe." Said a nurse hesitantly and she squealed when Mikasa glared at her.

Mikasa sighed and hesitantly left the room, having one last look at Annie's face, it was so pale.

She shooked her head, and a new objective was in her head, she needed to find Eren.

Mikasa went back to the courtyard, gagging at the smell of Annie's blood and found her brother leaning against one of the buildings, glaring at her.

Mikasa glared back and made her way to him. "WHY THE FUCK DID YOU STOP ME?" Eren shouted at her as soon as she got closer, "WHY THE FUCK DID YOU WHIP HER SO MUCH THEN? DIDN'T HANGE SAY 5 EREN? 5! CAN YOU NOT FUCKING COUNT?!" Mikasa snapped back which stunned Eren.

He has never seen his sister so angry before, and with the adrenaline wearing off, he was beginning to see the reason in his sister's words.

"We-well she killed our frie-" Eren began to say but stopped when he saw the utter hate in her eyes "So you would fucking whip her till she bleeds to death?" Mikasa asked coldly as she got even closer to Eren.

"Um, I wasn't planning to... look, Mikasa, I wasn't thinking straight ok!" Eren nervously replied and that's when he felt a stinging pain on the side of his face "What the?" Eren thought dazed until he realized that his sister had slapped him, on his cheek.

At this point a crowd had gathered around them, watching silently at this rare argument between the two siblings.

"I heard enough," Mikasa said coldly and turned around to go to her bunk. "Move." was all she had to say to get the crowd to get out of her way. 

* * *

Annie opened her eyes and groaned "Where the fuck am I now?"  her body aching. 

Annie looked around and noticed that she was lying on a white hospital bed, "Owww, why does everything hurt, what the hell happened to me?" she thought as she tried to sit up but regretted it instantly.

Annie screamed as she felt like her back was ripping itself apart. "What? Are you ok?" a panicking voiced said beside Annie as she gasped, her vision turning into black and white spots. 

"Shit, you're bleeding through your bandages, I'm going to get a nurse! Don't move." Said the voice again as Annie heard footsteps running away. 

Eventually, the pain subsided and Annie got control of her breathing, the black spots were reciting and Annie remembered what happened earlier. 

She was being....whipped, each time the whips touched her, she felt it ripping her skin off along with it. She remembered being kicked and rotten fruit was thrown on her face, which brought another question, why would they stop? 

"Ms. Leonhardt, I'm here to change your bandage." said a female voice and Annie looked up slowly, careful not to make any sudden movements. 

As the nurse got to work, Annie was deep in thought. "I should still be in the survey corps headquarters.... but why would they be treating my wounds, it makes no sense." Annie thought as she closed her eyes, being in a crystal for 10 years has sapped her physical strength, she hasn't felt this weak since she was 6.

Annie winced as the nurse started re-wrapping her bandages, and not very lightly. Annie studied the nurses face, it was stoic but Annie could see the hatred in her eyes. Annie yelped again as the nurse started wrapping the bandage around her back quicker and harder "Sto-stop!" Annie gasped out, she was beginning to see black spots again. 

The nurse smirked and continued wrapping the bandage faster and harder, enjoying the pain she was inflicting on the person who killed her boyfriend. 

Annie gasped and tried to move away from the harsh bandaging, but from the pain of being whipped and the fact that she was stationary for 10 years, Annie was extremely weak. So the only thing Annie could do was close her eyes and endure the pain, sweat dripping down her forehead.

"What the hell are you doing? Can't you see you are hurting her." A new voice said angrily and the nurse turned around, panicking. Mikasa loomed behind her, glaring,  her face remaining stoic.

"I-I didn't realize that I-I was hur-hurting her...." The nurse replied meekly, trying to lie her way out of her predicament. Mikasa just stared into her eyes intensely, and the nurse couldn't help but look away. "Leave," Mikasa said angrily, and the nurse quickly ran out the room. 

Annie was in too much pain to hear any of this exchange, but she tensed back up as she felt hands begin wrapping the bandages around her body again. It felt different this time, the bandages were being applied gently and slowly, as if not to hurt her.

 Annie opened her eyes slowly and was face to face with the most beautiful gray eyes in the world. "Who are you?" Annie asked but it came out harsher than she intended. The girl simply looked back down and continued wrapping her bandages. 

Annie signed, but she was content. "There finished, I'll leave you to rest now." The red-scarfed girl said as she began to stand up. 

Annie didn't want her to leave, "Wait..." Annie said grabbing her her arm, she felt the girl tense but then relax in her grip. 

"What is it, Annie?" Mikasa asked softly, not turning around to face her. " What's your name?" Annie asked and Mikasa was hurt. Sure, it's been 10 years but Annie seemed to remember everyone else's name except her own.

"What did you expect Ackerman, you never tried to get closer to her." Mikasa thought, but it still hurt to realize that the person that she used to crush on, had no memory of who she was.

"It's....Mikasa Ackerman." Mikasa replied bluntly and got herself out of Annie's grip, and began to walk out the door, trying to keep her stoic expression. 

"Mikasa...." Annie said to herself with her eyes closed, she liked how the named just rolled off her tongue.

As Mikasa turned to leave, she heard Annie say her name out loud "Mikasa....." and blushed furiously, her stoic expression breaking completely. 

"Come on Ackerman, it's been 10 damn years already, stop blushing like a little girl!" Mikasa cursed at herself silently, but couldn't stop smiling.

 "Mikasa!" someone said behind her, trying to get her attention but Mikasa didn't hear them. 

"Mikasa!" The voice said again and Mikasa felt hands on her shoulders.

 Instincts kicked in and she punched them right in the gut before turning around to punch them in the face. Her fist stopped short when she realized it was Eren.

 "I'm so sorry Eren!" Mikasa said as she helped Eren up, "What the hell was that for? I called your name like twice, did you not hear me?" Eren asked as he was trying to get air back in his lungs, a punch from Mikasa is not something to laugh at.

"No, I didn't hear you," Mikasa replied looking away, her face turning red as she remembered what she was thinking earlier. 

" Why the hell are you so red? What were you even do- oh, I think I know." Eren asked, rolling his eyes. "Come walk with me." He said as he led his sister away, to a quiet corridor in the survey corps headquarters.

"Its Annie isn't it?" he asked suddenly and Mikasa flinched, Eren signed as he realized he was spot on. "Look, Mikasa, I know you had feelings for this girl back when we were trainees but she's the freaking female titan!" Eren said urgently, trying to put some sense into his sister.

Mikasa looked away, "Do you think I don't know?" Mikasa spoke quietly, her head down. "But I can't help it, every time I look at her, I just see the person I fell for, not the female titan....." She continued putting her hands on her face. 

"How would you feel if Armin was in Annie's position Eren? Would you see your boyfriend, or would you see a titan?" Mikasa asked quietly looking back up at Eren "I-I uh I'll see....." Eren said in conflict with his heart and his mind, he finally signed "I see your point, but just... don't let her hurt you again." Eren said defeated and Mikasa gave him a playful punch "I think I can take care of myself." She replied and they shared a laugh.

* * *

Annie stayed in the hospital wing for 2 weeks, her back was covered with skin now but anyone can still see the scars the torture left. Each day, a number of people visited her, mostly to spit in her face or slap her but Annie expected this. 

There were still a few handful of people who visited her just to express their concern for her well-being, including Queen Historia and....Mikasa. Annie sighed and stared up at the striped ceiling "Where will I go now? I can't go back home, they'll kill me even if I don't have my titan power, Reiner and Bertolt are probably already dead..." Annie pondered again "Why? Why was I the only one who survived the 13-year curse? I am the least deserving of it, it should've been Bertolt or Reiner or ....Ymir." Annie signed again as she recapped what happened when Historia came to visit her. 

" _How are you feeling Annie?"_ _asked the Queen as Annie studied her, Historia hasn't changed much since the last time Annie has seen her but she did carry herself with more grace and confidence._

_"I'm fine," Annie responded quietly and silence covered the room "why are you doing this?" Annie continued after a while. "What do you mean?" Historia asked with genuine concern "Why are you talking to me? Why are you being so nice? Why don't you just say that I am the most useless piece of trash on this fucking planet right no-" Annie was cut off abruptly as she felt a burning sensation on her face._

_Annie touched her cheek and slowly turned back to look at Historia. "Stop saying that! No one is useless," Historia started angrily and Annie remembered being told that Historias mother used to call her a mistake. "Annie, its been 10 years! Do you even know how many deaths I had to see and funerals I had to plan?" Historia ranted on and Annie could see the facade that Historia put on was breaking "THERE WERE SO MANY DEATHS! SASHA AND CONNOR, THEY'RE BOTH DIED. Only Mikasa and Eren are left..... do you even know how happy I was hearing that another member of the 104th survey corps had survived. ANNIE THERE ARE ONLY THE 4 OF US LEFT!" Historia screamed at Annie, who looked as bored and uncaring as usual._

_"DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAN-" Historia started again but was taken back when she was suddendly pulled into a hug by Annie. "I'm sorry," Annie whispered in her ears as she hugged Historia tightly, she didn't realize how damaged her former fellow trainee really was. That was when Historias confident facade broke completely, she sobbed loudly into Annie's arms and Annie just held her quietly._

_Eventually, Historia stopped crying and was just sniffling "Annie.." she whispered "Yeah?" Annie replied, "I miss Ymir, I miss being held in her arms, I miss her smirk and I miss her asking me to marry her." Historia said softly, giggling at the last part. "I think the reason why the sight of you alive is making me so happy, is because there might be a slight chance that Ymir is still alive somewhere," Historia said as she started getting up and turning towards the door being held open by her bodyguard, "but that is extremely unlikely, I will probably never see her again... I'll never be able to say yes to her proposal."_ _Historia said as a lone tear slid down her face "Annie, you got lucky, you beat the odds against life, so please, your not useless or worthless. Do whatever you want in life now, you're not being held back by a time limit, join the survey corps again, get married before it's too late." Historia pleaded to Annie as tears started streaming down her face again. "I.. got to go, I'll see you later Annie," Historia said as she rushed out the hospital ward._

"Join the survey corps again huh?" Annie said flatly as she closed her eyes "Get married..." Annie thought and couldn't stop herself from barking out a laugh. "Who the fuck would ever want to love me, much less marry me." Annie thought harshly. 

"Fuck, I just wanna move." She said as she stretched her back and got out of her hospital bed. The doctors told her she needed at least a few more days in bed to make sure she was fully healed but Annie couldn't wait that long. She made her way to the courtyard, wearing only pants and the bandages that were wrapped around her waist and chest. 

Annie began throwing punches and kicks at the invisible target, she liked the way her muscles burned and how her thoughts cleared. Annie was lost in her own world, all her attention was focused on making her kicks sharper and her punch harder. She felt a presence behind her and in full attack mode, planted some sharp jabs and a hard kick behind her. 

Whoever it was dodged her jabs gracefully and caught her foot in the air, "You shouldn't overwork yourself." The person said plainly and when Annie's eyes finally focused, she realized it was Mikasa. "I do what I want," Annie said gruffly as she went back to doing some punches. She felt Mikasa's eyes on her and after a while finally turned around with an annoyed look on her face. "What? Do you need something?" Annie stated plainly, putting her hands on her hips.

 Mikasa was staring at her intensely because Annie was literally wearing nothing in front of her but Annie mistakened her staring as that of disgust. Mikasa finally snapped out of it when Annie asked her question, "No. Actually, do you want to spar?" Mikasa asked blankly "What, but didn't you just tell me not to overwork myself?" Annie replied sarcastically "Do you want to spar or not?" asked Mikasa again, rolling her eyes. 

"Yes," Annie said as she put her hands up, in her signature pose. Mikasa moved into her pose when Annie suddendly threw a quick left punch, Mikasa blocked it and returned her punch with a kick which Annie dodged and threw a few quick jabs at Mikasa's face. They sparred like this more hours, none of them even noticing the rain that was beginning to fall. Eventually, both collapsed on their sides, panting hard. 

"Damn, how do you have so much stamina left, you haven't moved at all for 10 years and got out just a few month ago." Mikasa asked choppily as she was struggling to get her breath back and she glanced at Annie. Her face was pointed up at the sky and as the rain fell down on her face, she was absolutely breathtaking to Mikasa.  

Mikasa looked down Annie and noticed that blood was seeping through her bandages, "Shit, you must've opened something, I gotta get you back." Mikasa said as she stood up and offered a hand to Annie. "Yeah.." Annie replied still panting hard, it felt nice to get all her pent-up stress out. 

As they walked to the hospital ward, Annie was awfully talkative. "So Armin and Eren are dating now? I knew it, he was too annoying for a regular person to be able to put up with, the only ones who can are you and Armin." Annie said chuckling as Mikasa filled her in on more personal things from the past 10 years. 

"So how about you? Got a boyfriend yet?" Annie asked as she turned to look at Mikasa, her face displaying a rare small smile. Mikasa gulped but kept a blank expression on her face "No, I don't have a boyfriend." She replied as normally as possible even though all she wanted was to scream it out, to confirm it. 

"Really? I've been here for only a month and I can see that every time you walk past a group of boys, they stare at you with lust." Annie said laughing out loud "Well you must at least have someone you like?" Annie continued as they got closer to the wing. "Yes, I do," Mikasa replied quietly stealing a glance at Annie. "Well, who is it you li-shit!" Annie said as she saw her doctor walking towards them, an angry expression on his face. "Well let's spar again sometime soon Mikasa," Annie said with a wave as she was yelled at about her wounds and the blood that was seeping through her bandages.

Mikasa watched her go and when Annie was finally out of sight, she finally turned a deep shade of red. Trying to keep a straight face when the person you like ask you who you like was difficult "You, I like you...." Mikasa said quietly as she turned around to leave. 

* * *

Several days passed and Annies injuries have finally healed, as she lay in the hospital bed, she heard the door to the infirmary open and in came a short, black haired man. "Levi," Annie said dully as she sat up to stare at the captain. "Leonhardt, the Commander wants you," Levi said in an equally dull way as he turned around and looked over his shoulder "Follow." Levi said and began to walk, not even checking to see if Annie followed. 

Annie rolled her eyes and got out of the hospital bed, already dressed in a spare shirt and pants that the staff had provided. As they made their way down the hallway to the office,  Annie ignored the glares that were directed at her all this hate was to be expected after all. When they arrived Levi opened the door and followed her in.  The office was just like Annie remembered,  it was small and simple, but upon closer inspection, there was a fairly heavy layer of dust on the desk and shelves, almost as if it wasn't used very often, or at all. A chair was set behind the desk and as Levi nudged her to move closer, the chair began to turn. 

Annie expected to see the blonde head of the tall, stoic commander but instead was met with the grinning face of a glasses freak. "Why hello there Annie, good to see you out and about," Hange said cheerfully as she put her arms on the desk.  Annie didn't respond, instead choosing to evaluate the situation instead. If Hange was the sitting at that desk, then it either meant that Commander Erwin was dead or retired. "I see you glancing around Annie, and I bet I can guess what ur thinking, yes I am the commander now and yes...Erwin is dead." Hange stated, her grin slowly turning into a frown "Can you get to the point, why did you summon me." Annie said eventually and Hange started grinning again.

"Help us, Annie, help us fight the titans again, we need your help more than ever," Hange said as she stood up and walked around the desk. "Our scouts have spotted a titan, one unlike anything we have ever seen, it's humanoid in appearance like you, but it possesses the ability to somehow use the characteristics of the other titans for short bursts. It doesn't appear very often, but when it does death is guaranteed. " Hange slammed her hand against the desk at the latter statement. "We need all the info we can get, I feel like, no I know that whoever this titan shifter is, he has plans, big plans." Hange continued before turning back to look at Annie "So please, please help us-" Hange began before Annie cut her off "You tried to kill me just a week before." Annie stated and Hange signed. "I know, I know.. and I regret that I don't know what came over me...I-I wasn't thinking straight." Hange tried explaining "But please, please help us we-we'll even compensate all your living expenses for life and we can clear your record-" Hange began to rant clearly willing to offer anything and Annie zoned her out.

"Another shapeshifter?..." Annie thought "That can't be possible, based on Hanges description none of the Titans ever shifted like that, the onl-" Annie snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Hange calling her name. "Annie.. so will you help us?" Hange said, staring into Annies icy eyes. Annie stared back, studying her, she could see that Hange was serious, even desperate and nodded. "I'll help." Annie said, " _Or I won't be able to live with myself, passing up this chance to try to fix what I've done.._ " 

"Alright, thank you Leonhardt..Annie thanks." Hange said with a breath of relief as she slumped back into the chair "You can go now," Hange said as she pointed towards the door "we got someone who'll take you to your room." Annie nodded and went to the door, turning the knob to step outside. Something red moved in her peripheral vision and she looked to her left and there was Mikasa.

 "Hey," Annie said plainly, acknowledging her presence. "Hey.." Mikasa responded, slightly nervous " _Why did I volunteer for this...I bet I look desperate.."_ Mikasa thought " _I bet Eren would have a good_ _laugh at me if he ever heard about this.."_  she thought annoyed, Eren may be an adult now but he still acted like a teenager sometimes. "Um... I'm here to take you to your room." Mikasa continued nervously, not that anyone can tell. "Lead the way then," Annie said unbothered. "Ye-Yeah follow me." Mikasa lead the way, soon they arrived at a door, on one of the higher floors, reserved for officers.

 "Here we are," Mikasa said, this time letting her cool appearance slip and showing the slightest hint of nervousness, Annie eyes Mikasa suspiciously before entering the room. It was a huge quarter, with a living room, kitchen, bathroom and multiple bedrooms. "This can't be all for me," Annie asked Mikasa, turning her head to look at her. "No, they..Hange didn't trust you enough to let you sleep alone." Mikasa began but Annie already got the rough idea "I'm staying with someone aren't I?" Annie asked, more of a statement than a question, Mikasa nodded, shuffling her feet. "Annie eyed her questionably "I'm going to assume I'm staying with you...right?" Mikasa nodded again and Annie signed, "Alright..where do I sleep." Annie said nonchalantly, not at all aware of how nervous Mikasa was. "You can sleep in the guest room over there." Mikasa pointed to a spare bedroom and Annie walked in. 

Mikasa watched Annie look around "Um.. if you need anything, let me know, I'l-I'll be in my room." she said and went into the master bedroom and flopped onto her bed, exhausted. " _What. Was. I. Thinking!!"_  Mikasa thought as she covered her face with a pillow, her face felt like it was burning. " _Not like I can do anything now, she's in my quarter, maybe permanently until the others won't try to kill her in her sleep..."_   Mikasa thought as she began drifting to sleep, exhausted from the events that were taking place way to fast for her to handle.

* * *

 

**_To Be Continued......_**  


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